Jhunjhunwala may pick up 5% stake in Symphony

Billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala might pick up five per cent stake in cooling equipment maker Symphony, said industry insiders.

Shares of the Ahmedabad-based company fell 0.98 per cent to close at Rs 1,285 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Monday. At Monday’s price, a five per cent stake in the company would be worth Rs 45 crore.

From its September 12 close of Rs 1,163.20, Symphony shares had gained 23 per cent to touch an intra-day high of Rs 1,440 on September 16, amid a buzz that the company was likely to get a large order from US retail giant Walmart. The company’s shares have cooled since then.

About two weeks back, Symphony’s management had met analysts and fund managers. Jhunjhunwala could not be contacted for his comment. When asked about the buzz in the market about Jhunjhunwala picking up stake in Symphony, Nrupesh Shah, executive director, Symphony, said: “There is no truth in it.”

On the talks about an order from Wal-Mart, Shah said: “We have received a trial order from Wal-Mart. Based on the performance, we may get an order from Wal-Mart for centralised air cooling of their new stores in Central America.” Symphony supplies room coolers to Wal-Mart, he said.